Teddy's Chance
by blamethenargles2
Summary: Five-year-old Teddy Lupin wants to know his parents. With the help of a fortunate accident, Teddy, along with his Uncle Harry, get the chance. Time-Travel Story. I know this is a very common idea, but I have made it my own. Read and Review, please. Rated K only because Sirius and others might make a little inappropriate humor, but nothing big.
1. Harry's Confession

Five year old Teddy Lupin lay in bed. The little boy had just had dinner with his best friend Victoire, along with his Uncle Harry, and many others. Now, he was back at home with his grandmother, and Teddy Lupin had a question nagging at his mind that was even more terrifying than the monster that he was certain was under his bed. He tried to ignore the question, because he had already pondered the question many times and asked many people, but to no avail. No one would ever answer his question, even when he gave his grandmother the pouty face. He already asked his Uncle Harry. But Harry always said, "Maybe when you're older." Teddy didn't understand why, but he knew that one day he might. He paused in thinking when he _knew _he heard a growl coming from under the bed. He hid under the covers, petrified. When the low, menacing growl finally went away, Teddy sighed and succumbed to sleep. But his last thought, before finally giving in to Mister Sandman, plagued his dreams for the rest of the night. As he heard a wolf howling at the beautiful full moon, he closed his weary eyes and thought,

_Why don't I have any parents like Vicky does?_

* * *

The next morning, Teddy hopped gleefully out of bed, joyful that the scary monster from under his bed didn't devour him in his sleep. All thoughts of his unknown parents were gone from his mind as he skipped happily downstairs. The only thing Teddy thought about was the delicious smell of bacon wafting in from downstairs.

His godfather, Harry Potter, was there, cooking the bacon. His grandma was nowhere to be found, although it was likely that she was with Mrs. Weasley, with whom she was very good friends. Teddy didn't mind much, because he was very close to his godfather, who practically raised him.

As Teddy sat crunching on the tasty bacon as Harry told him funny stories, the world seemed perfect.

Until—

"Uncle Harry, where are my parents?"

Uncle Harry looked utterly taken aback by the question. Recovering from his initial shock, he said, "Well, Teddy, I think that's a tale for another day."

Teddy frowned. He hated that answer. It meant that he wasn't grown up enough yet. Why, he could tie his shoes all on his own! Surely that meant that he could know where his Mommy and Daddy were.

"But—"

"Not now, Teddy, I need to talk about it with your grandmother first."

Teddy assumed that meant yes. Happy about getting some information, he hopped away to the living room, where there was an owl tapping away with a copy of the Quibbler.

Teddy received it happily and only looked at the cover, for he was a little lad and couldn't quite read that well yet.

Teddy went off on a wizarding adventure with all his toys, but not before wondering curiously,

_What in the world is a Nargle?_

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry was panicking.

_What should I tell him? He's only five years old! He wouldn't handle it well!_

Harry fretfully paced the room as he thought.

_But I can't lie to him and give him false hope! If I don't tell him, he might think that his mom and dad are coming back one day!_

Finally, he decided he would let Andromeda make the decision. She would probably know what to do.

That night, Harry sat down at dinner with Andromeda, with Teddy at his house with Ginny. He didn't want the poor boy to overhear the situation.

"Alright, Harry, what's going on?" Andromeda narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't do this unless you wanted to discuss something."

Harry sweated nervously. "Well, uh—it's about Teddy…."

Andromeda gestured for him to continue.

"Uh—his parents…" Harry trailed off, his hands sopping wet with sweat.

Andromeda sighed. "You want to tell Teddy about his parents, don't you?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what to do! He's been asking a lot lately, and I'm not sure if we should tell him or not."

Andromeda hung her head. "I know we have to tell him eventually, better now than when he's 11 and finds out about it at Hogwarts."

Harry was relieved at finding a solution, but he wasn't happy at all.

"How do you tell a five-year-old boy that his parents are dead?"

* * *

Teddy and Ginny were eating dessert at Albus' (a restaurant dedicated to war hero, Albus Dumbledore) when Teddy's young mind was bothered by another question.

"Aunt Ginny, where do babies come from?"

Ginny didn't know what to say.

"Why do you want to know, Teddy?"

"Was I born different from everyone else?"

"No, of course not, why would you think that?"

"Because everyone else has a mommy and daddy and I don't."

"Oh, Teddy," Ginny couldn't hold back her tears.

Teddy watched her, bewildered, as she sobbed right into her Lemon Drop Surprise.

_I guess she didn't like the dessert, _Teddy thought.

* * *

"Teddy?" Harry said cautiously the next day.

"Yeah, Uncle Harry?" Teddy said distractedly, focused on his toy.

"Do you really want to know about your parents?"

That caught the boy's attention. He ran excitedly at Harry.

"What are they like? What are their names?"

Harry smiled half-heartedly. "Your mom's name is Nymphadora Tonks, but it was changed to Nymphadora Lupin when she married your daddy."

Teddy beamed as his hair turned a vibrant turquoise.

Harry grinned, Teddy's happiness pulling him out of a dark mood. "And that's another thing! She could do what you can do! She's a Metamorphmagus too!"

Teddy smiled and said matter-of-factly, "Met-uh-morf-muh-gus."

"Right! And she is real clumsy, but your daddy loves her anyway. Your daddy's name is Remus Lupin, and he is special too. Teddy, do you know what a werewolf is?"

Teddy nodded. "Some people say they're mean and scary. But I don't think so, because you told me that they can't help being a werewolf!"

Harry nodded. "Well, your daddy is one. But don't be fooled! Your daddy is one of the nicest men I know. He really cares about you."

Teddy giggled contentedly.

"Your dad's really smart and he has three best friends, who love him so much."

Harry's grin faded from his face. "Teddy, you know the battle I told you about?"

Teddy nodded, and said with difficulty, "The one where you defeated Vole-duh-mort?"

Harry nodded. "Your parents fought in that war, which was very brave of them. Teddy, you know why Uncle George is so sad on April Fools?"

Teddy looked confused and said, "Because he lost Uncle Fred?"

Harry nodded sadly. "He died in the battle that I told you about. He bravely gave his life to help make it so that no one would have to die because of Voldemort ever again. And this is the sad point in my story, Teddy."

Teddy still didn't seem to understand.

Harry sighed and tears welled up in his eyes as he said. "Teddy, your parents died in that same war."

Realization sank in for Teddy. "You mean—" He whispered, choking back tears. "They'll never throw me a birthday party?"

Harry nodded solemnly and embraced the boy. Andromeda stood in the background sobbing.

"Teddy, don't be terribly sad, your mommy and daddy are with everyone else in Heaven,"

Teddy still wept. "Why didn't they want to be with me?"

Andromeda shook her head fervently. "Your parents love you more than everything, even now. Don't even think for a moment that they didn't!"

Harry nodded. "They died for you. So you wouldn't have to live in a world with bad guys,"

Teddy stopped wailing for a moment. "So, they're with Uncle Fred? And Hedwig? And Dobby?"

Harry smiled at the boy. "Yes, and Sirius and my mom and dad and Snape and Mad-eye and Dumbledore! They're looking down on us, and guess what, Teddy; they're proud of you and me and everyone else and they love you."

Teddy smiled. "So one day I'll see them?"

Harry nodded. "One day."

"And they know what I'm doing!"

Andromeda nodded.

"D'you think they know about that time I pulled Vicky's hair?"

Harry and Andromeda laughed.

* * *

Later that night, Teddy lay in bed, care-free.

"Why is it I'm so happy? My parents are gone." He whispered to himself.

Still, after Harry's confession, he took Teddy and most of the family to the Burrow, where all his friends and family were, and they told him stories about Uncle Harry and my parents, which cheered him up.

"Oh, bugger-off," He said to the monster under his bed as it growled.

A few minutes passed before Teddy felt his eyes fell droopy.

"Thank you for loving me," He said to the room happily before nodding off to sleep.

Teddy was unaware that he would meet his parents sooner than expected.


	2. Back in Time

Over the course of the next few days, Teddy seemed normal, almost as if he hadn't been told anything about his parents. He remained curious and inquisitive and yanked on Victoire's pigtails. Andromeda assumed that it was because of the fact that Teddy now knew that he had parents who loved him, which before he was unaware.

Almost a week later, Teddy didn't cry once, except one time when he was sure the monster under his bed had nipped at his toes as he was getting into bed.

Sure, occasionally he asked about his parents, and Andromeda would tell him about his mother, and Harry would tell him about his father. Sometimes Ginny was there, and would tell him about Fred, too.

Harry, Andromeda, and Ginny watched as wonder grew in the boys' eyes. He was fascinated with his parents; everything about them was stimulating to him. But it wasn't an obsession; he was just happy to know that he had parents, because not knowing itched at him.

A couple of weeks after that, it was Harry's birthday. Teddy sat at Potter Manor and waited with Ginny for Harry to come home so they could take him to dinner.

"Aunt Ginny, what's the Or-dur of the Fee-nicks? Harry mentions it sometimes." Teddy said, pronounciating everything carefully.

And Ginny went into a full explanation of the Order and who was in it.

"So you mean, my parents and their friends were fighting Vole-duh-mort?"

A few minutes passed as Ginny told Teddy about the secret surprise party she'd planned for Harry, and how the entire Potter and Weasley clan and many others would be there and how grand a celebration it would be.

Ginny excused herself to the restroom and Teddy decided to explore the Manor.

* * *

The Manor was huge—so big that when Teddy shouted, it echoed. However, it wasn't old and impressive like Malfoy Manor was. No, Potter Manor was comfy and you always felt at home, even if you were a stranger. The Manor was really interesting too; there were twists and turns and cool rooms where guests could stay. This was useful, considering how huge the whole family was.

Teddy was exploring a room—Harry's office, the door said—when something caught his eye.

It was shining and brilliant gold.

Since Teddy was a very curious boy, he decide to examine it.

What happened next, I think you can guess.

He reached toward it and gingerly grabbed it off the shelf on which it sat.

It seemed to be a small pendant on a chain; in the middle, there was an hourglass. This interested Teddy because he had never seen anything like this object before. Curiously, he flicked the pendant, and it spun. He giggled mischieviously, and flicked it again.

Then Harry burst in.

"TEDDY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

This alarmed Teddy and caused him to drop the pendant. It fell to the ground and the hourglass shattered. The sand inside the hourglass poured out rapidly.

"TEDDY! QUICK—MOVE!"

Harry ran towards Teddy, who was terrified and bewildered at the same time.

Just then, Teddy felt a twisting feeling and disappeared.

And Ginny witnessed the entire thing.

* * *

Teddy couldn't see anything, everything was going by so fast, like a blur. He couldn't see Uncle Harry, or Aunt Ginny, or any of the Manor at all. All he knew was that he didn't know what was going on and that he was scared. He prayed that he wasn't dying. He was just standing there, utterly frightened. And then, it stopped, the world was visible again, and Uncle Harry was standing there, looking a mix between terrified, angry, and confused.

"Uncle Harry, what-?" Teddy began, but Harry shushed him and pulled out his wand.

Teddy looked around. He was sure that he was in the Manor before the world started spinning, but now, he and Harry were standing on a vacant expanse of land.

"Teddy, hold my hand."

Teddy obeyed the command.

"Alright we're about to apparate, okay?"

Teddy nodded. He had experienced apparition before, but it still scared him.

The twisting feeling of apparition was gone as quickly as it had come, and Teddy saw that they were in Diagon Alley.

But it wasn't the Diagon Alley he knew; Teddy couldn't place it, but Diagon Alley looked different somehow.

He and Harry passed by where Albus' was—or at least, where it was supposed to be. In its place, there was an old looking shop called "Gambol and Japes."

And Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes wasn't there either.

Finally, Harry came to a stop in front of the Daily Prophet headquarters. He examined one of the newspapers in front.

"Oh no, oh no," He said in hushed tones.

"What?" Teddy said, completely confused.

"I'll explain later."

Then Harry whisked Teddy away again to the Leaky Cauldron, except it was much older-looking.

Harry checked into a room without saying a word to Teddy.

Once they got into the room, Harry shut the door and cast a spell that Teddy didn't recognize.

"Muffliato!"

Harry looked very grim as he sat down on one of the beds.

"Teddy," he began. "I need to tell you something, and it's very important and you can't ever tell anyone. Can you do that?"

Teddy nodded.

"Okay. You remember that necklace you took? Well, that was called a Time Turner. It goes back in time by a few hours."

Teddy gave a look to tell him he was listening.

"However, this particular Time Turner was very unstable and fragile. It was unknown what would happen if it shattered. And when you dropped it, we went back in time, not by a few hours, but by eight years. Today is July 31st, 1995."

Teddy looked almost happy. "Really?"

"Teddy!" Harry scolded. "This is serious! This is bad! I hope you realize that right now, Voldemort is still alive! And I'm not sure what to do!"

Teddy teared up. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

Harry shook his head. "You didn't know. Alright, just go to sleep and I'll think of something."

"Uncle Harry?" Teddy said, yawning.

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean my parents are alive?"

Harry sighed solemnly. "I guess so, buddy. Go to sleep."

* * *

The next morning, Teddy awoke to Harry snoring away.

Teddy grinned. He had had nothing but good, joyful dreams the entire night, and there was no monster under his bed. The monster back at home must be missing him.

Teddy grinned mischievously as drool dribbled from his Uncle Harry's chin. With a running start, Teddy charged—and landed right on Harry, who woke up with a start.

"Oof!" Was all Harry could say when the little tike landed on his stomach.

Teddy couldn't stop giggling.

Harry smirked. "I can't believe you'd do that, you little sneak." And with that, Harry started tickling his godson.

After a few minutes of Harry and Teddy goofing around, Harry suddenly became serious.

"Teddy, I think I've come up with a plan,"

Teddy stopped giggling at that.

"We're going to go to Grimmauld Place."

Teddy looked confused.

"What?"

"Teddy, remember how I told you about the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Aunt Ginny told me about them. She said you guys fought the bad guy."

Harry nodded. "Its headquarters was Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."

"Oh, yeah, you've brought me to that place once. You own it, don't you?"

"Yes I do," Harry paused for a moment. "Teddy, if I'm not mistaken, The Order of the Phoenix should be there right now."

Teddy's eyes lit up, and his hair turned pink. "So, we're going to see them?"

Harry didn't reply; he seemed to be debating the idea. Finally, he sighed and said, "Yeah, buddy. But we'll have to disguise ourselves; I'm obviously Harry Potter, and you like a lot like your parents."

Teddy looked up at Harry with his wondrous eyes. "My mommy and daddy are there?"

Harry nodded.

Teddy smiled. "I can meet them?"

"Only if you promise not to tell them who we are."

Teddy sulked.

Harry frowned. _The poor kid hasn't met his parents, just like me,_ he thought. _I wish it could be different, but there's no other way. We can't just waltz into Hogwarts and talk to Dumbledore. _

"Listen, Teddy. I know you want to hug and kiss your parents, but you can't."

Teddy's lip trembled, as if he was about to cry.

"Teddy, you can't give us away. I need you to act like you don't know who anyone is, not your parents, not Sirius, not any of the Weasleys, or Aunt Hermione, or even my younger self. You can't give us away. We are not supposed to meddle with time. This is really serious. I need you to understand."

Teddy nodded, any sign of crying gone from his face. The only emotion left was seriousness.

"Teddy, tell me you won't give us away. Promise me."

"I promise." With a swift motion, Teddy made a cross over his heart.

"Okay. Do you remember that old Muggle movie we watched together? Peter Pan?"

Teddy nodded.

"Do you remember little Michael? What he looked like?"

Teddy nodded. "I remember. He was blond, and he always had his teddy bear."

Harry nodded. "Can you make yourself look like Michael? Can you picture him clearly and use your abilities?"

Teddy nodded, closed his eyes, screwed up his eyebrows in concentration, and scrunched his nose. Teddy felt a warm feeling surging through him, and when it stopped, he turned to the mirror to see a little boy with blue eyes and untidy blond hair. His face was shaped differently, and you couldn't tell that he was Teddy Lupin at all.

"Good job! Now, I'll cast a spell on myself to make me look different. Take great care to stay like that."

With that, Harry pulled out his wand and waved it over himself silently.

In a split second, Harry looked nothing like himself anymore. He too, had blond hair. His hair was the same length as Teddy's, but tidier. Harry's skin was a bit tanner, making him almost look like a surfer dude. His brilliant green eyes, which distinguished him from his father and connected him to his mother, turned to the same dull shade of blue. This gave Harry a depressing feeling, for he had always admired his eyes. He took off his glasses, for he didn't need them. His famed scar faded out of existence. All that was left was a normal man. He looked nothing at all like Harry Potter, the wizard who defeated Voldemort.

Teddy giggled. "You look different, Uncle Harry."

Harry smiled weakly. "Okay. Now we need new names. You are no longer Teddy Lupin, you are now Michael Vallance. And I am going to pretend to be your dad, Daniel Vallance. We're going to be Muggle-Born. Got that?"

"Yeah. Michael and Daniel Vallance. Muggle-born."

"Right. When we get there, we are going to say that we got knocked out and we don't know where we are. Take nothing from anyone. They might slip truth serum into any tea of food they offer us, so don't take any."

Teddy nodded.

"Okay. Whatever you do, don't change anything about yourself or they'll know you're a Metamorphmagus."

"Got it." Teddy said confidently. "That's a lot."

"I know. But it's important. Now, get ready. We're going to apparate in front of Grimmauld Place, go in, and we'll fall onto the floor and act all dizzy and confused. You can do that, I know you can. You have to remember to do everything I've told you."

"Got it. Can we go now?"

"Grab my arm."

As Teddy grabbed Harry's arm, he once again felt the uncomfortable twisting sensation of Apparation. When it stopped, Teddy and Harry were standing on an untidy patch of grass. The place where they had touched down was not exactly welcoming; some of the houses had broken windows, glimmering dully in the light from the streetlamps, paint was peeling from many of the doors and heaps of rubbish lay outside several sets of front steps.

Teddy wrinkled his nose at the smell; the place reeked of rotten garbage and the air was thick and smoggy. He turned his focus to Harry. "This is where we're going?"

Harry nodded and went walked shakily up the steps of Number Twelve, Teddy trotting along somewhat excitedly behind him.

Harry extended a shaky hand and opened the door. The dark, grim hallway of Number Twelve was revealed and Harry and Teddy raced in, careful not to make a sound. Then, they collapsed deafeningly onto the floor as planned.

In almost no time at all, almost all of the Order raced in, wands drawn.

"Who are you?!" Sirius Black said in disbelief.


	3. Figuring it Out

Harry looked up at everyone. He saw Snape, Mad-Eye, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Remus, Bill, Dumbledore, and… _Sirius_. He could feel tears forming in his eyes and willed them to disappear. He knew Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Snape would be here, but it was a strange feeling to see them in the flesh again when he had seen them dead right in front of his eyes. As for Mad-Eye, well, he had never really gotten over the fact that the brave soldier had just died so easily. Not heroic in one last blaze of glory like he had anticipated. He was shot with a killing curse, and he was dead without any display of the heroism he had within himself.

_Stop it, _he told himself. _Focus on the task at hand._

"Who are you?!" Sirius said again, this time more threateningly.

Harry willed his somewhat questionable acting skills not to fail him this time. In fake disorientation, he said, "Where are we? Where's Michael?"

Teddy eagerly stood up, and fell back down. Harry wasn't sure if he was acting, or if Apparation made him dizzy. Regardless, this scored their fake story some points. Then Teddy said something that broke Harry's heart.

* * *

"Daddy?"

Harry panicked, and sprang forward before Teddy could do any damage. He held tight onto his "son," reassuring the child that his father was here.

Teddy, however, scanned the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces, looking for two people in particular.

* * *

_Where were they? _Teddy thought. _What do they look like? _

Teddy looked for someone extremely hairy, with fangs, maybe.

Apparently, that was not what a werewolf looked like, because he saw nobody of that sort. However, he did see a man with a very funny looking eye.

He didn't quite know what his mom looked like, but he frantically searched for her anyway.

Teddy tried to be a big boy and not cry when he realized he didn't know which of these people his parents were.

He was going to ask Uncle Harry, but the man with the crazy eye said something before he did.

* * *

"Who are you?" Growled Mad-Eye Moody menacingly. .

Harry pretended to look scared, although he thought it might have looked a bit constipated. "I'm Daniel Vallance, and this is my son, Michael."

Was he being too eager? Most wizards would have refused to say their name right away. Harry hadn't thought of that. Luckily, it didn't throw anyone off.

"Surrender your wand," Moody growled again.

"Of course," Harry said weakly. "Just don't hurt my son, please." And with that, he dropped his wand and Sirius hurried forward and confiscated it. Teddy clung to Harry, burying his head in his godfather's shoulder.

_I hope they believe me, _Harry thought. _For mine and Teddy's sakes._

As Sirius examined Harry's wand, all of the teenagers within Number Twelve (Harry identified his younger self, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny) dashed downstairs at the displeasure of the adults. Harry again felt that surge of shock at seeing Fred alive and well with his twin.

"What's going on?" His younger self shouted.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" Ron yelled senselessly.

"CHILDREN! GET OUT!" Molly yelled, but for once, her screaming had no effect except in making the children more determined to stay.

Molly groaned in frustration. "Fine,"

"Tie him up," Snape said firmly.

With one swift movement of his wand, Mad-Eye succeeded in tying Harry up. He was about to do the same to Teddy, but Molly wouldn't hear of it.

"He's just a child!" Molly said, shielding Teddy as he cowered behind her.

Moody grunted. "Yeah, or a Death-Eater using Polyjuice Potion! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Still, Molly insisted. "Look, I'll hold the boy. He doesn't even have a wand."

"Fine. But if I was right, our lives are in your hands."

Molly humphed. Then, she turned to Teddy, smiled, and gingerly picked up the terrified boy.

"It's okay," She comforted him. Teddy smiled at her.

* * *

"Now, Daniel Vallance. We can't take any chances so you must take this Veritaserum." Snape stepped forward, holding a flask.

Harry's heart dropped down into his stomach.

"Wait," Dumbledore stepped forward. "Surely, Daniel, Michael, and I can do this in my office at Hogwarts?"

Harry managed to restrain a sigh of relief. Dumbledore to the rescue.

Snape narrowed his already narrow eyes at Dumbledore. "Why? If they have nothing to hide, there should be no reason not to do this here."

"Still, some matters might be unpleasant. Isn't that right, Mr. Vallance?" Dumbledore said. Harry nodded his head, perhaps a little too eagerly.

Snape glared at Harry, but gave in. "Fine. Come back as soon as possible."

"Alright, Sir, if you will come with me?" Dumbledore led Harry and Teddy to the fireplace to Floo.

* * *

Dumbledore's office was unlike anything Teddy had ever seen in his five long years of life. It had so many amazing gadgets. Its walls were lined with what looked like a gazillion books to Teddy. It also had many portraits of scaring looking witches and wizards. There was a very pretty red bird sitting on a perch near the desk, who, to Teddy's delight, chirped at him happily like a songbird. Teddy never wanted to leave the office. It was heaven. …

However, Harry wanted nothing more to leave and never come back as Dumbledore stared suspiciously as him. He was unable to meet Dumbledore's gaze, and instead stared nervously at the floor.

"Daniel Vallance?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What's your real name?" Dumbledore got to the point straightaway.

Oh no. What had he done? He thought he had played the part near perfect. Yet, here he was, five minutes in, and Dumbledore had blown his cover.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I mean," Said Dumbledore pleasantly and conversationally, "that you are not who you say you are and you have given false identities."

Harry sighed. "You're going to give me Veritaserum now, aren't you?"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore replied, unwrapping a lemon drop and popping it into his mouth. "Or," he added, "You could just tell me the truth and save all the trouble."

"When I tell you the truth you're going to give me Veritaserum anyway because you won't believe me."

"Try me." Dumbledore gave a light smirk.

Harry gave a deep sigh, and said, "My name's Harry Potter."

For a moment, Dumbledore was surprised, then regained his calm composure. "I have many questions, but I assume you have a story?" Harry nodded.

"But first, let me introduce you to my godson, Teddy Lupin." Harry said, and Teddy, hearing his name, stopped gawking at Fawkes and turned to Dumbledore, waving politely.

"Lupin, eh?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Is it safe to assume that Remus and Nymphadora realized their feelings for each other?"

Harry laughed, remembering the two fondly. "Yes, although in this time, he hasn't been born yet. I don't even think they're romantically involved."

Dumbledore nodded. "So, you are from the future, then? Is there some way of long distance time travel in the future?"

Harry shook his head. "Well, it turns out, a Time Turner that has been tampered with does not take too well to shattering."

For the first time in his life, Dumbledore didn't seem to understand.

"Let me explain. Okay, so I come from the year 2003. I'm Head of the Auror Department, and one of my responsibilities is to confiscate items from the criminals we catch. I keep these in my office until I have filed the paperwork necessary to store them safely in the Department of Mysteries. The office is usually kept well protected with charms-"

Harry said this last line in annoyance.

"But I think Ron had been snooping around in there. He was never one to remember important things."

His eyes were twinkling as if he were reminiscing about old times. Finally, he remembered he was telling a story and continued. "Anyway, one of the items I had in my office was a Time Turner. It was taken from a man who was hoping to revive Voldemort, but according to him, it had never worked. The Auror Department wasn't sure, and obviously, we weren't about to test something that was so dangerous. Anyway, that was the day before my birthday. The next day, my paperwork was almost finished, but I went home early to my family. Teddy was there, and he must have been exploring and found my office. He saw the Time Turner and spun it. Then my wife and I showed up, and I shouted at Teddy to stop, which must have scared him, and he dropped it. It shattered. I ran to Teddy to try to get him away from the dangerous thing, but it took me and him back in time, and here we are." At this point, Harry sighed in worry. "And Ginny… she saw it all. She and the others must be worried trying to get us back."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Ginny Weasley?"

Harry grinned sheepishly.

Dumbledore chuckled, but then stopped abruptly, looking thoughtful. "Maybe the Time Turner fulfilled its purpose."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "You mean, this is the time it was supposed to go to?"

"Yes and no," Dumbledore responded. "Not this time in particular. You said the man was trying to revive Voldemort. When was he defeated?"

"Of course!" Harry exclaimed, his face brightening up in understanding. "1998…he was defeated. He was trying to change it. But since the Time Turner shattered…"

"Now." Dumbledore interrupted. "I believe you, but Alastor would never forgive me if I wasn't absolutely sure, so if you could please remove whatever glamour spells you are using."

Harry nodded. He briskly pulled his wand out of his pocket, waving it over himself. Neat blonde hair darkened, got longer, and messier. He was surprised to find himself happy that he had his hair back. His skin was getting paler, no longer tan, but white. His vision blurred. He had no mirror, but he could feel his face returning to normal, and his scar returning.

Dumbledore nodded, "That is proof enough for me. Seeing you grown reminds me of your dad."

"Uncle Harry?" Teddy interrupted. Harry and Dumbledore must have been talking for longer than they had thought, because Teddy looked tired.

"Is it time for supper yet?" Teddy asked, his stomach growling.

Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at the boy. "Almost. Teddy, my boy, would you like a lemon drop?"

Teddy's eyes lit up. "Please?"

As Teddy was busy sucking on his lemon drop, Dumbledore turned once more to Harry. "You can live at Grimmauld Place. It's crucial that you stay somewhere with other people, because we will need to discuss a solution to your problem, which we can only do here. And, of course, we can't leave Teddy alone while we look for a solution."

Harry nodded. "But what if he gives something away?"

"I think that's a chance we're just going to have to take."

"I guess we really have no choice." Harry sighed. "Teddy, it's time to eat supper."

"Yay!"

Quickly, Harry reapplied his glamour charm. They stepped into the Floo. As the flames swirled around Teddy, all he could think of was his new chance. His chance to know his parents.


	4. Getting Along

So many thoughts raced through Harry's head as he stepped out of the Floo.

_What will Sirius think of me? Remus? Tonks? What will my past self think of me? Will they see right through me? Will Teddy get emotional when he sees his parents? Will he give us away?_

Meanwhile, Teddy had one thing on his mind.

_Parents._

It didn't occur to him at all that his parents might not like him. After all, his mom and dad were _obviously _perfect people who would love him right away, even if they didn't know he was their child. He could already see it; Dad would sneak him candy behind Mom's back, and Mom would yell at him, but laugh and let him have the candy anyway. At least, that's what Vicky's parents did. And he was sure that when Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry had kids, it'd be the same way.

* * *

As Dumbledore, Harry, and Teddy stepped out of the Floo, everyone in the kitchen turned their head to look at them. Everyone stared with varying degrees of suspicion, hostility, and curiosity. Teddy felt himself blushing, and did all he could to keep his hair from turning the same color as his face. He hid behind Harry in embarrassment.

Harry mustered up all the courage he had, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

"Um, hello." He muttered shyly. He wished he could hide behind Dumbledore like Teddy was hiding behind him at the moment. "I'm- well, I already told you, but I guess you'd prefer to hear it from the Professor."  
Everyone in the room looked to Dumbledore to confirm.

"This man has told the truth."

There was relief on everyone's face.

"He is who he says he is. I'm afraid that these two are in serious danger. Daniel Vallance and his son are on the run from Fenrir Greyback."

* * *

Teddy didn't know who Fenrir Greyback was, but at his name, everyone gasped, so he knew the man must be a bad guy.

"Why is he targeting you? What did you do?" A sandy haired man asked. Teddy's head shot up at the man's voice; it was as if he had heard it before. Teddy liked the man's voice.

Next to the man there was a woman with pink hair. He had never seen a woman with pink hair before. He made a mental note in his mind to talk to the lady. She was pretty, and she looked nice.

* * *

"Why is he targeting you? What did you do?" Remus asked.

"I…." Harry had to come up with a lie quick. Why did Remus get bit again? "I—well - when I was younger—young and stupid—I called him a savage. I insulted him and, at that time, I didn't have children. So I thought nothing of it. Then, Michael came along and I got scared. But he never struck until this summer. I guess it's because of the rumors that You-Know-Who is back. Or maybe he was just biding his time." Harry hated lying to the people he loved, and he saw more holes in his story than there are in Swiss cheese, but the words were out of his mouth, and there was nothing he could do.

Remus looked like he had more questions, but Dumbledore had decided the conversation was over.

"So, I was wondering if you would be willing to let these two live here with you, so as to keep them safe, especially the child. I'll give you a moment to think it over."

* * *

Teddy knew he wanted to live here. The people all looked really nice, except maybe the man with the long black hair and the black eyes that always looked like he was mad. But his grandma always said you can't judge a book by its cover. He didn't know if he would like the house. It was really big; it wasn't as big as Potter Manor, but bigger than his own house. It looked dark and scary, but he also thought it would be fun to explore. Like Potter Manor, it had many nooks and crannies that Teddy would want to investigate. He also wanted to meet his aunts and uncles as teenagers and play with them. He only wished there was someone his age here. Back home, he had Vicky, even though she was only three and didn't know as many words as him and she was barely potty trained. He considered Vicky his best friend, after his grandma and Uncle Harry. He surely would miss them while he was here. He also had this weird thought that he would miss the monster under his bed. He knew it must miss nipping at his toes every time he climbed into bed.

* * *

Harry didn't think he'd ever been more nervous in his life. He remembered when he and Hermione had time traveled. They had only gone back three hours, and yet he had almost screwed everything up so many times. He could only imagine how much he could mess up now that he had travelled eight years.

His thought were interrupted when Sirius spoke. They had decided.

"I can't see why we can't take any more misfits," he said cheerfully. "Welcome home."

Harry felt his nervousness fade away. He grinned. He knew it would be irresponsible, but he wanted more than anything to go up and hug Sirius. He felt a pang of sadness as he remembered that Sirius would probably think Harry was crazy or creepy if he tried to hug him. Instead, he shook his hand. He felt a surge going through his hand, as if electricity was coursing through it. He thought he might cry.

"Daddy?" Teddy said to Harry. "Is it supper yet?"

Everyone laughed. Harry thanked God that Teddy was actually playing along. Although he had a feeling it might not last long, once Teddy knew which of these people his parents were.

* * *

While the nice ginger lady made dinner, Uncle Harry and Teddy were being introduced to everyone.

The man with the big scary blue eyes and scars all over his face was named Mad-Eye Moody. Teddy laughed when he heard the name. Surely no parents would name their son Mad-Eye!

The man with the black hair and scary black eyes was Severus Snake. That was a curious last name.

The nice ginger lady was none other than his Grandma Molly! She looked so different without her graying hair, and she had less wrinkles. The balding man was Grandpa Arthur, who, in his time, had only a few hairs left.

The man with the long ginger hair in a ponytail was Uncle Bill. He looked so different without the scars on his face. Seeing Uncle Bill made him miss Victoire.

There were also young uncles Harry, George, Ron, and George's twin, Fred. It was nice to see Uncle George having fun with his twin. And though he already knew them in his time, he felt scared of them, as if they weren't going to like him now that they were teenagers.

"I'm…. Sirius Black."

… "I'm… Sirius Black."

Harry pretended to be horrified. He backed away from Sirius, dragging Teddy as if to protect him. He hated pretending that Sirius was a convict, but if he was going to try to keep this up, he had to be convincing.

Harry felt a pang of guilt when Sirius looked down in hurt at his reaction.

"I'm innocent, actually." Sirius said.

Harry looked to Dumbledore for confirmation. Dumbledore nodded.

Harry sighed. "Alright, then! Pleasure to meet you!"

Sirius looked like Christmas had come, and again, Harry fought the urge to latch onto him and cry.

"Well, my name is Tonks. That's it. Tonks." Tonks said, and no one dared to argue with her.

"And I am Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you both." Remus said, giving a warm smile.

…. Teddy looked up in awe when he heard the two people introduce themselves. This was them! His mommy and daddy! Seeing them in front of them, Teddy imagined playing Quidditch with dad, and . Then he imagined him, a big boy, eleven years old, getting on the Hogwarts train, with his parents waving him off.

Teddy couldn't help it. He cried. And this time, he wanted his mom and dad to comfort him, not Uncle Harry.

So he ran straight at his parents and hugged them, sobbing loudly. He buried his face in his dad's shirt.

He did not notice the bewildered looks on both of their faces.

* * *

_Damn, _Harry thought, as he watched Teddy hug his confused parents. _Time to do some damage control._

"I'm sorry!" Harry apologized as he pried an unwilling Teddy away from Remus and Tonks. "I don't know why… maybe he's seen you before?"

Harry cursed himself for being a terrible liar. He'd be lucky if his story lasted five more minutes now.

"I've never seen him before in my life," Remus said honestly. At this, Teddy sobbed even harder.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry!" Remus freaked out, trying to calm the boy down, but he was unsuccessful.

If it weren't a serious situation, Harry might have laughed. Hopefully, Remus got better with small children in the next two years.

The urge to laugh subsided when he realized Remus's ability to calm children would not be necessary.

Sirius, however, was laughing. "Moony, just do what you used to do with Harry when he was a baby!"

Remus panicked. "Harry was only one year old then! Help me, Tonks!"

Tonks snickered at him. "It's okay, I think I've got this." Tonks lifted Teddy into her arms and changed her nose to a pig nose, making the boy laugh.

Thankfully, Teddy did not change his nose to match. Otherwise, they would have been busted.

After about a minute of this, Teddy was calmed down. Tonks put the boy back down and he walked back over to Harry.

Before anyone could say anything, Molly called out from the kitchen, "Supper's ready!"

Harry was more than eager to eat so he could avoid conversation. Teddy was more than eager to eat because he was hungry.

Once everyone was sat down at the table, however, everyone wanted to know everything about the newcomers.

"So, Michael, how old are you?" Molly asked the young boy.

Teddy did not look up upon hearing his alias.

"Michael." Harry said softly, and Teddy looked up this time. "Tell them how old you are."

A smile lit up Teddy's face. Carefully, he counted on his fingers his age and showed everyone five fingers.

"Good job, Michael!" Tonks said encouragingly.

Harry was delighted to see Tonks so proud of her son, and by the look of it, so was Teddy.

Dinner continued a little while longer, rather awkwardly, because everyone was too afraid to ask the questions that were circling in their minds.

Finally, Ron broke the silence. "So- uh, Mr. Vallance. Do you have a wife?" He said, through mouthfuls of food.

Molly shot him an admonishing look.

Harry laughed. "It's okay. My wife has been dead for about a year now." His laugh faded into sadness, which wasn't an act. Thinking of Ginny dying was too painful when he was younger, and it was even more painful now. Thinking of her beautiful laugh never again reaching his ears and even her yells never being heard again broke his heart. He actually started to tear up thinking about it. He guessed that scored points for his story.

"She was a Muggle, you see," Harry continued. "She got sick."

Harry seriously hoped no one asked what illness his fake wife had, because he had no clue what he would say.

Thankfully, no one asked him to elaborate.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Sirius said sincerely. Harry gave him a genuine smile and thanked him.

"Anyway, my wife was a wonderful woman. We were friends since childhood, and then I grew up, found out I was a wizard, and it was great. Fell in love, got married. She called me mad when I told her." Harry did his best to sound like he was telling the truth, but he thought he sounded like he was reciting one of Uncle Vernon's manuals.

"So you're Muggle-born, then?" Bill asked, then quickly added, "not that it's an issue or anything."

"Yeah, I am."

"How old are you?" Said Hermione.

"I'm 26 years old."

The questions continued for the rest of dinner. After Molly insisted that she wouldn't allow Harry to help with the dishes, Harry and Teddy sat in the sitting room with Lupin, Tonks, Ron, Hermione, younger Harry, and Arthur. They sat talking as Harry did his best to stay out of the conversation and Teddy stared at his parents in wonder.

Soon, Tonks left, and the rest of the group decided to go to bed. Silently, they processed up the stairs. Right as Ron was standing in front of his room. Teddy said, "Are there any monsters under the bed here?"

Ron laughed quietly before responding. "There are a few things here you might consider monsters, but the worst is Mum when you don't do your bit of the cleaning." With that said, he bid the two good night and went to bed.

Teddy and Harry continued up to the bedroom they had been given, and as soon as Teddy's head hit the pillow, he fell asleep, certain as ever that good dreams awaited him.

Harry, however, stayed awake, the events of that day whirling within his mind with a sort of childlike wonder, as if he were trying to remember a wonderful dream he had. He was so blissful, that at that moment, he never wanted to leave.


End file.
